Process of manufacturing decorated chinaware and pottery



Nov. 16,1943. BAUER 2,334,307

PROCESS OF MANUFACTURING DECORATED CHINAWARE AND POTTERY Filed May 6, 1941 Patented Nov. 16, 1943 'UNiTED T TES PATENT f 1 This invention relates to chinaware'and pottery and moreparticularlyto a method of incorporatallyja nd accuratelyon the same base which is preferably plaster. The thickness of the stencilv ing raised designs on the surfaces of same inan integral manner. Among the objects of this in vention are the following: .Toprovide an inexpensive and simple method of incorporating the materialv used in the raised design so it will integrallycoalesce with the body of the article during the firing process; to provide an arrangement that will permit the raised design to be readily varied in color and thickness to suit the wishes of the artisan applying the raw material used therefor; to provide a method of applying iii can be controlled when it isjmadeto an accuracy of part. of an inclnand fits accurately and closely-in place on the mold. The wet clay used for the; design is not laidon the semi-finished article as in the first'instance but 'is applied such material that will avoid the need for scraping it tobring it to its predetermined level; to

provide a method that will eliminate the necessity of making the design or decoration in one mold and removing it therefrom by hand and placing it on the article to be decorated at a different location; to have a method that will not require the disturbing of the raised decoration and design material in any way after it has been applied to the article to be decorated; to provide a method of applying the decoration or design material in various colors directly to the mold and then applying the body of the article material directly thereto to form a homogeneous unit. In the art of chinaware and pottery making, the conventional manner of incorporating raised designs in the ware is done by making a clay design of suitable thickness to make it strong enough to be handled wet. This clay design material is outlined on a mold and then picked up and laid on the dish intended to be decorated by it. It is patted, trimmed and worked into place in a relatively slow and tedious manner. Even with care, the design is usually slightly out of place or irregular and may not be fully attached to the dish. Another method is to use a base which may be termed a. matrix with the design recessed in it, on which the clay is laid on, so the design will appear on the article when removed from the matrix or mold. This method requires the design and body to be of the same clay and color and are molded as one and at the same-time.

It is impossible to make the designs on all the dishes of the same kind, so they will be accurately alike each other and made on a true production basis. This makes the number of rejects, excessive and considerably increases the cost of manufacture. In addition the design is raised so high on the finished ware, that it is liable to collect ,dirt and be hard'to clean thoroughly. This invention avoids these difliculties by its method of building-up a so-called stencil graduthrough the openings in' the stencil and is forced into the interstices in the 'mold and remains therein when the :stencil is removed.- This method of applying the design enables the thicknes of the designrmaterial to be varied to suit the requirements and also provides an accurate and cheap means of producing ornamented articles. The'invention consists of the new "and; novel process hereinafter more fully set forth in the followingrspecification and pointed out indetail in t e ap e dedclaim :1

- Inthe accompanying drawing' a design cut therein.

' Figure 2 is a side elevation of a mask or stencil with a design cut therethrough and identical with the design in the mold.

Figure 3 is a side elevation of the mold with the maskJor stencil fitted thereon, the latter being partly broken away and showing the design registering with the design in the mold.

Figure 4 is a section on the line 4-4 of Figure 1.

Figure 5 is a plan view of a finished plate showing the design on, and slightly above, the upper surface thereof.

Figure 6 is a section on the line 6-4 of Figure 5.

Referring to the accompanying drawing, forming part of this specification, and in which like reference numerals designate like parts throughout the several views thereof, 1 designates a plate mold having a design 2 cut around the outer upper surface, and 3 is a mask or stencil which has a design 4 cut therethrough the outline of which is identical with the design 2 in the mold on which the article is formed. The'said mask or stencil fits tightly on the mold I and the design 4 registers with the outline of the design 2 in the mold. The plate 5 has a design 6 on its upper surface identical with the design 2 of the mold on which the plate is formed.

The process of decorating in this case is as follows: i p

The molds to be used are made in the usual manner, and the design to be used, such as at 2, is then cut or modeled in the face of the molds. The clay that is to be deposited in the design cut Figure 1 is a side elevation of a plate mold with in the mold is a different color from that used to form the body of the article so that when the article is finished the said design will be of a contrasting color from the body of the article. To accomplish this, it becomes necessary to use a mask or stencil such as at 3, having the same outline design cut therethrough as the outline of the design cut in the mold and adapted to register therewith, thesaid mask or stencil .must fit sufficiently tight on said mold so that there will be no seepage under the mask or stencil when the clay in a semi-liquid form is being deposited in s the design in the mold, consequently the y,

kind of mask or stencilthat will accomplish this is one made by the electrotyping process made tight on the mold which has been prepared for such a process.

The mask or stencil is laid on the mold with the outline of its design registering exactly with,

the outline of the design in the mold and'fitting perfectly tight thereon to prevent any seepage under the mask or stencil. The clay in a semiliquid form' is then sprayed, brushed, or otherwise forced through the design of the mask or stencil and deposited in the design in. the mold. After the clay in semi-liquid form has been deposited in the design in the mold, the mold being made of plaster of Paris, which is very porous, absorbs the moisture from the semiliquid clay and in a few seconds is sufliciently set to remove the mask or stencil without destroying the design now in' the mold. After the mask or stencil has been removed from the mold the clay to form the body of the article to be manufactured is then placed on the mold and formed-"againstthe clayforming the design formerly deposited-in the design of the mold. The body of the article =andthe design already in the mold then coalesce, or unite, so that when which it is treated with a glazing material and,

again baked.

This method applies to articles formed by both the potters wheel of clay in paste form or the casting method where the mold is filled with clay in a semi-liquid form, or what is known in the potters art as slip.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

1. The process of manufacturing decorated jiggered ware comprising: providing a jigger mol'd'with an intaglio design inits moldingface; placing a mask over the mold surface, so as to leave the design exposed; applying plastic clay over the mask, and into the design; removing the mask with the overlying clay; applying clay over the jigger mold and the first mentioned clay remaining in the design; jiggering to form the ware, and then firing.

2. The process of manufacturing decorated jiggered ware comprising: providing a jiggered mold with an intaglio design in its molding face; placing a mask over the mold surface, so as to leave the design exposed, applying plastic clay of a, contrasting color over themask, and into the design; removing the mask with the overlying clay; applying clay over the jigger mold and the first mentioned'clay remaining in the design; 7 V

jiggering to form the ware, and then firing.

GEORGE A. BAUER. 

